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Ministry of Education New Zealand
Important

Draft curriculum content

This page is based on the draft Year 2 content for Technology, which is currently open for feedback. Schools are not required to implement changes until the consultation process is confirmed. 

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Consultation for Year 0 to 10 draft curriculum content

In Year 2, your child learns to notice and wonder, then describe and explore how products look and work.

Students explain the who, what, when, where and why of the product they are going to design. They use drawings, models, or photos to share their ideas, and then they experiment with materials and ingredients to develop and improve their work. They continue to create objects that serve a purpose and consider how the design of everyday objects impacts people and the environment.

Design, make and innovate#

Ideas to help at home

With your child, you could:

  • encourage them to spot problems that they could try to solve at home, for example, birds flying into the windows, pets spilling water from their bowl when drinking
  • work together to create new objects by combining recycled or everyday materials (inventing and adapting)
  • discuss why certain materials are used for everyday objects and compare them with each other (wood versus plastic)
  • sort and test materials and ingredients, for example, how can you tell if something is rigid or flexible, or how do you tell the difference between sweet and sour, salty and spicy
  • practise simple measuring, cutting, and joining skills, use tools like scissors, glue, sticky tape, measuring scales, or cups and spoons
  • follow recipes at home and learn how to use kitchen tools and equipment safely with an adult
  • explore how mixing or heating simple ingredients, like flour, egg and water, can change what they turn into.

What the teacher will focus on#

The teacher will support students in exploring everyday products to understand who and what they are, and how they work.

By planning and thinking about the problem, and then being guided in the making, teachers support students in continuing to use a design process (plan, make, and test).

Teachers introduce how materials behave and can be combined, how to use tools safely, and how ideas can be transformed into real outcomes.

For example, by the end of Year 2, your child may be able to:

  • explore how inventions solve everyday problems and help people in their communities, for example, how different cultures have created ways to cook food using natural materials
  • notice a problem to solve that affects people
  • plan and design making something as part of understanding the design process
  • choose materials that fit a design purpose, for example, selecting waterproof materials for a rain hat or warm, washable materials for socks
  • choose and combine materials or ingredients based on their properties, for example, pick soft fabric for comfort or chilli powder for heat/spice
  • make and test products to see how well they work and what they look like, for example, designing a waka huia (treasure box) and testing its strength and usefulness
  • notice and discuss how well a product works, what it looks like, and make simple statements about its effectiveness and usefulness.